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Grammys 2013: From comedy to soundtracks, most awards fly under the radar

By John Wenzel, The Denver Post

Posted:
02/07/2013 12:09:53 PM PST

Updated:
02/07/2013 12:14:59 PM PST

Perhaps the most bittersweet part of winning a Grammy award is that it's possible to walk away with one and still remain unknown to the general public.

"It's either over-the-top glitz or it's consigned to some nether area," said comedian Lewis Black, a two-time Grammy winner who's nominated again this year for best comedy album. "There's nothing in between."

Thanks to his Comedy Central appearances and constant touring, Black doesn't have that problem. But dozens of other musicians and artists do.

"Don't turn on the Grammys expecting to see my category," said Denver-born composer Austin Wintory, who scored a historic first nomination for a video game soundtrack for his work on the 2012 game Journey. "I mean, there's like 80 categories overall."

From the Oscars to the Tonys, the majority of entertainment awards are not represented on prime-time telecasts - as will be the case with 55th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. The most popular categories typically rule the program, with lesser-known ones recognized at smaller ceremonies earlier in the day or week.

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This is neither surprising nor new, given that awards shows can only mention a handful of the most audience-friendly honors during their high-stakes telecasts. Still, it downplays the breadth of artistic contributions in a given field, possibly preventing viewers from being exposed to worthy new voices - or old ones.

"It's one thing to relegate comedy to the afternoon ceremony because it's not music," Black said. "But jazz? Are you kidding me? You take the original American musical art form and go, 'Why don't you wait in the locker room and we'll come back to you after the game?'"

The answer, of course, is not an eight-hour marathon program, since many of the lesser-known categories (think best surround sound album or best album notes) would make for painfully boring TV. And regardless of the category, the national recognition, however brief and footnoted, usually leads to more opportunities for the nominees and winners.

"I'm feeling extremely grateful for the overwhelming tidal wave of insanity that has resulted from it," said Wintory, an L.A.-based composer who already has hundreds of scores under his belt. "But even if I win, even if John Williams gives me a standing ovation or something totally bizarre like that happens, none of that will make the music that I have to write tomorrow any better."

Wintory is in great company: the 28-year-old is in the best score soundtrack for visual media field with composers such as Williams, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Ludovic Bource, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - all of whom have won Oscars for past work.

"What I especially love is the almost ludicrously extreme wide range of stuff in there," Wintory said of his category, which received an overhaul last year to better reflect the range of visual media. "For over 10 years video games were eligible for this but none were ever nominated because the category was focused on film and TV, so it was kind of marginalizing. But then again, how often was any TV nominated?"

Black and Wintory are both voting members for the Grammys and both plan to attend this year.

This year, Black's "In God We Rust" is up against albums from Jimmy Fallon, Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, Jim Gaffigan and Tenacious D - all of whom Black likes and respects. But like Wintory, he's careful to note that a nod from the Grammy voters is not necessarily an everlasting validation of objective value.

"Gaffigan is in it, and I thought it was about time for that, but there's a list of people a mile long that you feel have as much right to be nominated as I do," he said, pointing to late comics such as Mitch Hedberg and Bill Hicks. "But in the end, it's still recognition."